They were usually carved from wood or stone. They were worn for one of two reasons: – To protect the wearer during battle – To intimidate the enemy Page 4 LO: To make a Mayan style mask Other masks were designed to be worn during important events such as weddings and birth ceremonies.

Jade stones can be very large in size and were often carved into ornamental stones. Smaller pieces were used to make figurines, weapons and jewellery, from circular earrings to teeth inlays.

The most sacred Mayan masks featured complex and delicate mosaics made out of jade. Other materials used were stone, wood, gold, shell and obsidian (a hard, dark, glass-like volcanic rock) Page 3 Event masks were usually made out of cedar wood.

The Mayans did not have metal tools, so masks were made with simple hand-tools constructed of bone, animal parts, stone, soil and wood. Jaguar masks were commonly used in funerary and burial rituals, to cover the faces of the dead.

According to the article, the demand for jade among China’s newly rich “appears to have reached a frenzy in the past year or two.” The price of the finest jade has increased tenfold over the past decade, to $3000 an ounce, making it far more valuable than gold.

In Central America, the Mesoamerican groups, namely the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs prized jadeite jade. They used it for medicinal purposes as well as for jewelry, ornaments, and religious artifacts.

Mayan masks were made from a variety of materials, including wood, gold, shell and volcanic rock, they used masks for a variety of reasons; to adorn the faces of the dead, to be worn at important events, to be worn during battle, and to be hung in houses.

Jaguar masks were commonly used in funerary and burial rituals, to cover the faces of the dead. These masks were often intricately designed and featured brightly coloured mosaic stonework. Simpler masks were used for entertainment purposes and were worn at feasts and communal celebrations.

The Mayans possessed a remarkable ability to fashion mosaic funerary masks out of jade, one of their most precious elements, for their dead royals. Though made of stone, the resulting masks contained an uncanny naturalness and likeness to their owners.

When it was discovered in 1952 during an excavation of the Temple of Inscriptions in the ruined Mayan city of Palenque (modern-day Mexico), this intricate jade death mask had been lying in a darkened tomb chamber for over a thousand years, covering a skull.

The skeleton of The Red Queen has been the only one found of a noble Mayan woman buried in a sarcophagus inside a Mayan Temple. The Red Queen mask was made of malachite, and the bones of her body were all covered with red cinnabar as the ones of Pakal.

Consider the mask of Pakal, lord of the Palenque. He came to power at the age of 12, and ruled for almost 70 intense, war-ridden years. When archeologists uncovered his tomb, they found his face covered in a funerary mask made of over 200 fragments of jade. His bones were covered in a suit of jade plaques, strung together by gold.